World football governing body Fifa has partnered up with World Health Organisation (WHO) to promote the need for fair access to Covid-19 vaccines.
Fifa and WHO will utilise the Fifa Club World Cup 2020, being held in Qatar from tomorrow to February 11, in a public awareness campaign involving star footballers, through TV and in stadiums to send the messages.
The initiative is under Fifa’s Access to Covid-19 Tools (ACT) programme, which urges people to practise mask wearing, physical distancing and hand hygiene.
“We all have to play our part in the battle against the coronavirus. We are also calling on the international community to #ACTogether to ensure a level playing field in relation to access to vaccines, treatments and diagnostic tests across the globe,” Fifa president Gianni Infantino was quoted by www.fifa.com as having said during a video conference prior to the kick-off of the Fifa Club World Cup.
WHO director-general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus thanked Fifa and the players for helping raise awareness on life-saving interventions that all people can follow.
He said: “Fairness is the foundation of football and all other sports, and this also must be the same when it comes to health.”
Commenting on the initiative, Football Association of Malawi (FAM) Covid-19 Task Force chairperson Chimango Munthali said football has played a big role in the fight against the pandemic.
He said: “As FAM, we used a targetted approach in the fight against the pandemic by focussing on our stakeholders. We have spent huge sums of money to support players, clubs and all our affiliates.
“Our approach helped to safeguard the game which employs thousands of Malawians. Without our intervention, players, coaches and officials could have lost their jobs.”
